WELLINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The growth of New Zealand's electric vehicle (EV) fleet is exceeding all targets, Transport Minister Simon Bridges said Thursday, as the government steps up measures to encourage their uptake.
Announcing guidance to support the development and roll-out of public charging infrastructure, Bridges said the national fleet had exceeded 2,500.
The government is working with industry to help reach 64,000 EVs in New Zealand by the end of 2021.
The guidance would support public charging infrastructure by providing clear recommendations for both investors and those enabling the development of charging station sites, such as local authorities.
"While we expect most charging will continue to take place at home or the workplace, reliable public charging infrastructure is crucial to provide drivers with the confidence to make longer trips. It can also influence the decision to buy one," Bridges said in a statement.
The government's Transport Agency was making recommendations to best meet the long-term needs of EV drivers.
"Central to the recommendations was ensuring they took into account emerging fast-charge technology and overseas market shifts, learning from the failures and successes of other countries," Bridges said.
Also Thursday, Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins said a total of 15 projects had been conditionally approved to receive around 3.5 million NZ dollars (2.49 million U.S. dollars) from a fund to help stimulate electric vehicle uptake.
"The funding will provide up to 50 percent funding for projects that will demonstrate and showcase low emission vehicle technologies in high-profile, visible ways that will help to normalize these technologies, and that can be implemented relatively quickly," Collins said in a statement.
A second funding round, with up to 6 million NZ dollars (4.27 million U.S. dollars) available, was likely to open for applications over the next two months.
In October last year, the government announced the number of registered EVs had already doubled over the previous year, hitting 1,003, compared with 500 in 2015.
